The pearl of Likoma (''Labidochromis joanjohnsonae'') is a species of fish in the family

Cichlidae Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted thi ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

where it is native to rocky areas around Likoma Island and it has been introduced to Thumbi West Island. This species can reach a length of TL. It can also be found in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade. Males are blue, while females are a greenish blue with rows of yellowish spots and shiny gills. They feed on crustaceans, insects, and larvae. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

of this species honours Joan Johnson who was editor of ''The Aquarist'' magazine in which the description of this fish was published.

References

Pearl of Likoma Fish of Lake Malawi Cichlid fish of Africa Fish described in 1974 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cichlidae-stub

See also

References